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Barbecue Tricks

BBQ Tips and Tricks

January 27, 2013 Competitions

First Place Competition Chili

1st place chili recipe

I’ll be the first one to tell you I have limited experience in Chili cook offs.    But I tried my hand in a competition at my church this weekend and feel like I’ve come up with a trick for scoring first place in you next chili recipe competition.

Previously I posted a recipe for Third Place BBQ chili here.  Looking back to prep for my latest challenge I realized how lame it was.  Chili seasoning mix… pork loin… fresh tabasco peppers… It wasn’t very authentic (seasoning mix?) or practical (have you seen fresh  Tabasco peppers at the grocery?).

Chili powder ingedients

Chili powder ingedients

A quick call to Jack got me a great tip.  “Make your own chili powder.  You’ll have a better flavor profile than the store bought stuff,” he advised and sent me what had won for him in the past. I took his advice and am now convinced that using a hand crafted fresh batch of chili powder is a real game-changer.  I took first place against about twenty other chili’s I thought were really good too.

The Fist Place chili recipe is below but the real trick is the chili powder.  Fun and easy to make. Use those dried whole chilies you see at the store (you may want to mix and match if you cant find Guajillo, Arbol or Ancho) and toast /roast them briefly in a cast iron pan.  Be careful not to burn them and don’t choke on the potent fumes.  Pull the stems and grind with cumin seeds in a blender, coffee grinder, or spice grinder.  Simple.

arbol chili

Arbol Chiles

Try the recipe below and post in the comments how it fares for you.  It’s a winner. 2 oz. Ancho Chiles – dried and roasted 2 oz. Guajillo Chiles – dried and roasted 1 oz. Chile de Arbol – dried and roasted 5 tablespoons Cumin seeds – toasted and ground 2 tablespoons granulated garlic 4 tablespoons oregano 4 tablespoons smoked paprika Toast whole dried peppers and cumin seeds in a skillet until they slightly start to brown. Let cool and grind to a powder.

Add other ingredients and mix. Yields about two cups.

 

Print
First Place Competition Chili

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes

Yield: 7 quarts or 20 cups

Serving Size: one to two cups

First Place Competition Chili

Home made chili powder is the tricks to making this chili a winner. Find the powder recipe at BarbecueTricks.com. Substitute other ingredients as needed.

This recipe is a chili cookoff first place winner.

Ingredients

  • 1 Tablespoon Cayanne pepper
  • 2 Tablespoons salt
  • 2 pounds pork (pulled or chunked)
  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • 1 cup homemade chili powder (see above)
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 head of garlic, minced
  • 3 large fresh Poblano peppers, fire roasted, seeded
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 4 beef bouillon cubes
  • 2 cans (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes
  • 2 bottles (12 oz) of robust beer
  • 2 cans (15.5 oz) of pinto or kidney beans

Instructions

  1. Saute garlic and onions until translucent. Add 1/4 of the meat and chili powder and brown. Salt the meat while cooking. Repeat until all meat is added. Add all other ingredients and simmer for one to two hours.
3.1
More Recipes at BarbecueTricks.com

Categories: Competitions Tags: chili, chili powder, chili recipe, first place chili

About Bill West

Bill West a BBQ enthusiast, Best-Selling Author, and Country Music aficionado in Charleston, SC.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ivy Baker says

    April 3, 2018 at 8:51 pm

    This looks like a really good recipe for chili. I liked what you said about using some paprika and cumin in the chili. I wonder what other species would work well in chili. I really want some chili, but I am a terrible cook. Hopefully, I can find a good type to buy.

Trackbacks

  1. Chili Powder How To | Barbecue Tricks says:
    June 14, 2015 at 11:42 am

    […] posted HERE (full text recipe) it breaks down an easy way to get the edge on your next chili cook off. Watch […]

  2. BBQ Spice Making – Chili Powder | GrateTV says:
    June 14, 2015 at 11:50 am

    […] posted HERE (full text recipe) it breaks down an easy way to get the edge on your next chili cook off. Watch […]

  3. Chili Powder How To - Barbecue Tricks says:
    November 30, 2016 at 7:08 am

    […] posted HERE (full text recipe) it breaks down an easy way to get the edge on your next chili cook off. Watch […]

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Hey Y'all... Thanks for stopping by. I'm Bill West. I blog about BBQ and occasionally country music. When it comes to BBQ I try to find solid time saving tips and tricks to make the grilling life a bit easier. It's life hacking for the backyard cooker. Read More…

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